Monday, August 11, 2008

Welcome to Organic Journey Online and our fifth and final episode of 1 Organic Hen = 3 Family Meals. This has been an exercise in stretching our food budgets to allow us to eat healthier; I call it organic math. So far, we have made 2 meals with the 1 organic hen; this will be the third and final meal. We roasted a whole hen with vegetables and made chicken and rice with some of the leftover chicken meat, and broth that was made from the carcass. Today, with the remaining 2 cups of chicken meat, and the homemade organic broth (thawed) , we are going to make the heartiest chicken and vegetable soup you've ever tasted. I guarantee it!

You know how the story goes. A neighbor or family members gets sick and Mom or Grandma makes chicken soup for them. Well, this is my version of a hearty chicken and vegetable soup. There are so many vitamins and antioxidants in this stuff, it ought to kill just about anything that ails you.

In my effort to cut time out of the cooking process, I have tried 2 organic corn muffin mixes from my local organic stores. You can play with their directions if you like, by adding a little cooked corn to the batter, extra sugar for muffins, or a few minced jalapeno peppers, for those of you who like your cornbread with a kick. Our favorite brand so far has been Dr. Oetker Organics. Preheat your oven and get your cornbread mixed up and ready to go in the oven before you turn on the soup. This should make your timing just about right to have warm bread with hot soup. Mmm Mmm good. Oops, did I say that? Campbell's soup probably has a voodoo doll made up to look just like me. Ha!

Here are the ingredients that I am using. Don't forget to soak and wash them well before cutting and cooking. (You can select other favorite vegetables, if you like):

1 head organic celery hearts, sliced thin

About 2 quarts of organic chicken broth (more if you made more)

Remaining cut up chicken, about 2 cups

2 medium organic yellow onions, chopped

1 small head of organic cauliflower, stems removed and all separated into small pieces

Place the broth in a large pot and heat to a boil. Add the chicken and all the vegetables, except the cabbage and lower the heat to medium low for 3-5 minutes. Finally stir in the finely shredded cabbage and replace the cover. Turn off the heat. The objective is to keep some crispness in the vegetables and not cook all the vitamins out of them.

Serve with warm cornbread or corn muffins for a wonderful comfort-food type meal, especially on a rainy or cold day. Leftovers make a easy lunch for tomorrow, even packed in a thermos for work or school. I hope you have enjoyed this money-saving series on making 3 meals with 1 hen. There is a bonus in this for you; you will probably have about a half dozen bowls of soup left over. I like to put some in the freezer and some in the refrig for quick lunches or easy dinners on those crazy nights when you have a meeting or other event. Either way, you'll come out way ahead.

Your comments in the COMMENT link below would be helpful and appreciated. Remember that every comment puts your name in a drawing for a free cloth shopping bag. The drawing will be held on September 1. Good luck!

I don't normally post on the weekends, but this weekend was special. I was invited to post an organic recipe on a cooking blog called Blake Bakes. My HOUSE SPECIAL Organic Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread is a special occasion recipe for holidays, company, gifts, etc. If you are a lover of raisin bread, this stuff is definitely for you; it can be likened to a cinnamon roll--so rich and delicious it is almost sinful. I hope you'll click the recipe link to this post and check it out.

Join me tomorrow for a Colossal Coupon Collection. I've been trolling the web for deals, steals and free meals for you. I trust you will find something useful in the collection I'll post tomorrow. Thanks for visiting.

2 comments:

thanks for visiting Green Divas. i love your blog. i'll be visiting often! i also have a foodie blog if you want to visit http://www.eatdrinkbetter.com - i'm one of the regular bloggers. my last post was about zucchinis.